How To Send Money To Nigeria Cheap And Fast

3 Cheap and Fast Ways to Send Money to Your Family in Nigeria

There are three primary options available for you to send money online to your family in Nigeria. While they all work to achieve the same aim, the working principle of each one is different.

Bank Transfers

Bank Transfer involves using your local bank to send money directly from your account to the recipient's account. The payment processing is handled between your bank and that of the recipient in Nigeria. The two banks involved also get to determine the fee of the transaction. 

Wire Transfers

Wire transfer involves using services like Western Union, Ria or other money transfer services. To use this service, you must physically go to the bank and make the transfer. You can initiate this transaction by filling a form at the bank. In the form, you will fill the recipient's bank account number and the ABA routing number. The funds are then transferred between the network of banks affiliated with the platform before it eventually gets to the recipient's account. 

Money Transfer Apps

This is a modern means of sending money to other countries. The funds are transmitted digitally using the peer-to-peer model. It involves the use of a software app that has a digital wallet installed. Your debit card or bank account is then connected to the app.

This medium allows you to send money through electronic means to the recipient. If the receiver has the same app installed, they can gain access by withdrawing into their bank account. 

Alternatively, they can use the wallet to make online transactions. The flexibility, speed, reliability, acceptance, and popularity of money transfer apps keep increasing daily.

Cheapest Way to Send Money to Nigeria

The cost of sending money to Nigeria varies across the three major platforms explained earlier. The price difference is due to the peculiarities of each method.  

Firstly, bank transfers are the most expensive. If you want to send money to Nigeria from the UK, the transfer fee could be as high as 3-4% of the money to be sent. 

Wire transfer is relatively cheap, but it largely depends on how many banks are processing the funds. The more the banks are, the higher the cost. 

Money transfer apps are the cheapest, and this is due to the low overhead cost of running their platform. Their charges can be as low as $1.26

Fastest Way to Send Money to Nigeria

The turnaround time for processing the transfer of funds is also a crucial factor to consider when sending money to someone in a foreign country. Apart from the anxiety of lost funds, a quick processing time will ensure on-time delivery of funds meant for emergency purposes. 

Bank transfers can take up to 1-4 business days before the recipient gets the funds. Wire transfers can also take up to 5 business days. 

For money transfer apps, funds can be delivered within minutes if the sender uses a credit or debit card. For Wise, the Nigerian recipient can receive the funds in 40 minutes. As of now, TransferGo has yet to make transfers available to Nigeria. Ria has a credit or debit card option that allows you to get the funds in 15 minutes. 

However, these rates are subject to factors such as being a new customer or how the recipient wants to receive the funds.

Best Ways for Specific Countries

In the succeeding paragraphs, we will discuss the best ways to send money to the USA, the UK, and Italy.

Send Money from the US to Nigeria

Sending money to Nigeria from the US is easy if you opt for the best method: bank apps.

For Ria, the transaction fee for is between $2 and $6. This will be done within 15 minutes if you and the recipient have the app installed.

If you're looking to send money from Nigeria to the US, consider options like Chipper Cash and Flutterwave.

Send Money to Nigeria from the UK

There are two popular options for sending money to Nigeria from the United Kingdom. They are Ria and Wise. Wise charges £0.45 for a £1 transfer. However, the higher the funds you want to transfer, the lesser the fees. Ria charges £3.5 for a £1 transfer. Their transactions take 15 minutes or less than that.

However, Chipper Cash and Flutterwave are your best options if you want to send money from Nigeria to the UK.

Send Money to Nigeria from Italy

Sending money to Nigeria from Italy is easy and fast if you use Wise. Wise charges €0.52 if you're sending €1, and they'll deliver within the hour. However, for larger funds, they charge less. 

Chipper Cash and Flutterwave are payment processing platforms to consider if you need to send money from Nigeria from Italy.

Conclusion

While this article focuses on speed and cost, there are other factors to consider while deciding on the best money transfer app. Such factors include ease of use and customer support, to mention a few.

It can be challenging to wrap your head around all the vast options and factors to consider when choosing the best money transfer app tailored to your needs. This is why we created a simple to use tool to find out which money transferring apps are best suited to your needs.